Very interesting topic! First, things I'm not afraid of. I am surprised at how many people are scared to have a colonoscopy. I have Crohn's disease and have had 44 of 'em since the late 70's. Back then, they sucked. The pain meds, Demerol, Valium & Versed sucked. First & second generation colonoscopes sucked. Now, it's a piece of cake! What would really suck is dying from colon cancer. When found early on, it's VERY curable.
Have had seven lithotripsies, a little scary the first time, but there is lots of incentive to get rid of that calcium oxalate gem that causes Sooo much pain. Had one cystoscopy that I was out for, no biggie. Several urinary caths, about a 4.5 on the Suck-O-Meter. Had to have a prostate biopsy & after reading about it online, I was pretty apprehensive about this procedure. It turned out to not be as bad as I thought it would.
Not a fan of IM injections, but have had over 100 blood draws in my life......0.0 on the Suck-O-Meter. Had a central line in the subclavian vein for parenteral nutrition during a 16 day stay in the hospital for salmonella poisoning that almost killed me. That whole episode rated a 9.5 on the Suck-O-Meter. Had two major surgeries that turned out really well. All I can say is: Do research, find out who the BEST surgeon is & go to him / her, even if you have to travel. There is NO substitute for a top shelf Dr / surgeon.
Here's the stuff that really scares me: NG tube......Had 'em twice & really HATED them. Chest tube........Put me out or you're going to have to hold me down. Any kind of eye surgery. Rabies shots. Spinal anesthesia....funny story....when I had my GI surgery, my surgeon stressed that he wanted to do a spinal. Is said no way. For whatever reason, I had a tremendous fear of having that done. He finally convinced me. Comes the day of the surgery, I'm in pre-op, in a cubicle. In comes my surgeon, anesthesiologist and a beautiful RN with an hourglass figure. So, I'm sitting on the side of the gurney, the surgeon & anesthesiologist behind me. and the RN sits on a stool about a foot in front of me. The surgeon tells me he wants me to lean forward & put my forehead on Emily's right shoulder. I hesitated & she looked at me & patted her right shoulder. The first thing that came to mind was the scene in Goldfinger when Honor Blackman tells 007 her name is Pussy Galore and 007 replies "I must be dreaming". I'm in position, with a million dollar view, the anesthesiologist explains that he's going to prep the area, then give me give me a sub q injection of lidocaine, then I would feel pressure, then a "pop". Meanwhile, I'm 1,000 miles away, concentrating on boobs. I felt the pressure & the pop, then they dressed the site. RN Emily said "now that wasn't so bad, was it"? That was the most fun I ever had in a hospital!!
Best,
vapor